The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has issued over 8,000 permanent registration certificates so far to Pakistani doctors, without the requirement of the National Licensing Examination (NLE).
According to an official of PMDC, this exam was mandatory earlier as per the previous law of PMC as the local graduates had to appear and pass the NLE exam before getting their permanent registration, even after graduation from Pakistani medical and dental colleges. He said that in this regard several protests and demonstrations were held by different doctor forums and organizations at different levels and the past government was appealed repeatedly to withdraw the said black law.
Previously, as per PMC law, NLE was undertaken by doctors who graduated from Pakistan’s approved medical and dental colleges which was highly criticized by the doctors’ community throughout the country. He said that keeping in view the demand of the doctors and on the direction of the Minister for National Health Services Abdul Qadir Patel, this step was taken after signing the concerned legislation by the President of Pakistan.
Taking up all the relevant matters and affairs, PMDC started its registration portal as a priority after making all necessary arrangements for the transition from PMC to PMDC. In this regard, an interactive PMDC online portal has been launched to facilitate doctors throughout the country. He said that on the first day, 1,500 registration certificates have been issued while PMDC also started issuing good-standing certificates and renewals.
“We invite all the local graduates, who are approximately over 10,000 and waiting for their permanent registration for a long time to apply online for registration.” These graduates waited for quite a long time to get themselves registered but failed due to the rigid rules imposed by past PMCs, he added. He said that one of the objectives of PMDC is to make the registration portal in a way that is seamless to use, easy to navigate, and must be user-friendly. He added that PMDC right after its promulgation ensured that the registration portal should be accurate enough and must be able to secure the storage of confidential information of doctors and to develop a system that provides a secure payment system for application fees and develop a system for tracking and managing applications.
He said as per the new Law of the PMDC Act 2022, the exam for foreign graduates like National Registration Examination (NRE) has been introduced for Pakistani graduates having undergraduate degrees from foreign Institutions. He said that passing the said NRE will be mandatory for obtaining a full registration and the NRE will be substantially based on objective computer-based multiple-choice questions and a practical component. He said, “We welcome the suggestions of the medical fraternity throughout the country and we extend full facilitation to reach out and address the grievances of every medical professional and facilitate to the fullest.”
